From Sweden to Poland: Maciek Rutkowski's Baltic Sea crossing - the full numbers and summary

In the early morning of 18 September, Maciek Rutkowski set off from Sandhamn in Sweden and crossed the Baltic Sea non-stop, taking the 2022 slalom world champion around eight and a half hours to reach the finish line on the beach in Wladislawowo in Poland. The entire tour was livestreamed, and Maciek and his team also collected a wealth of information via smartphone, smartwatch and trackers.

• Mission Baltic: Maciek Rutkowski has made it - Baltic Sea crossing in 8.5 hours

They have now published a summary of "Mission Baltic":

• Distance: 227.521 km
• Time: 8:28:58 h
• Time and distance on the foil: 6:17 h/219 km
• Time and distance not on the foil: 2:09 h/8.5 km
• Average speed: 26.14 km/h
• Top speed: 55.44 km/h
• Crashes: 7
• Maximum heart rate: 182 BPM
• Average heart rate: 108 BPM
• Calories consumed: 4098
• Calories consumed: 1155
• Caffeine intake: 1280 mg (= 21 espressos)
• Fuel consumption of the safety boats: 1295 litres

These are just the numbers of the crossing, the response was just as impressive: more than two million views on social platforms, more than 630 publications in the media with 26.8 million contacts, 63,343 views of the livestream and more than 25,000 euros raised!

Mission Baltic: Interview with Maciek Rutkowski

A few days after the Baltic Sea crossing, Maciek went to the World Cup on Sylt - as one of only three foil events, this was hugely important for the World Championship. In case anyone was worried that Rutkowski was still affected by his extreme trip, Maciek proved them wrong: with third place, he achieved his best result in over two years. In between, he told us about the Baltic mission.

How long did it take you to recover?

I went windsurfing again for the first time on the following Tuesday, but that was definitely too soon. I did a lot of physiotherapy, massages and regeneration, so I'm on a good path now.

It took two hours before the wind finally came up and you were able to foil. What was going through your mind during this time?

The main question was whether it could be close at the end. We theoretically had the option of continuing in the dark, but you don't really want to do that. So I kept calculating when I would finally have to start foiling in order to arrive in the light.

What was more stressful - the physical side or the mental side?

I had to work very hard to stay focussed. I always set myself small targets: "By twelve o'clock, by half past twelve" and so on. Sometimes I thought a lot of time had passed, but it was only a few minutes. And my ADHD certainly didn't help...

How did you celebrate afterwards, were you at the party on the beach?

We had a nice dinner with friends and the team. It was a bit difficult because I needed help with almost everything - taking off the wetsuit, showering and so on.

If so many people watch a guy driving straight for eight hours, how well should an exciting race be received?"

How was the response to the project? There were a lot of media representatives there...

Yes, it was really overwhelming! We were all over the news in Poland, there was extremely high demand. I think that interest in windsurfing should actually be much greater in general. If so many people are already watching a guy go straight for eight hours, how well should an exciting race be received?

You started the crossing just a few days before the World Cup on Sylt. Was that more important to you than the tour this year?

For me, this is more of a mental issue than a physical one. Even though I wasn't quite back to 100% physically, it gave me quite a boost, so I came to Sylt highly motivated!

How do you rank this success for yourself compared to your world title?

The world title is still right at the top! Then comes my Session in Jaws, then the Baltic Sea crossing!